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Experts, including the chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies, have called for a tax to be slapped on sugary drinks to deter the public from buying them.

In the first study of its kind, officials at Public Health England – a Government agency – examined the teeth of a sample of 53,640 three-year-olds at nursery schools.

They found an average of 12 per cent – one in eight – had tooth decay ranging from small holes, needing fillings or having teeth extracted.

If the trend is repeated across England, then nearly 85,000 three-year-olds have rotten teeth.

Leicester has the highest rates, with 34 per cent of three-year-olds having rotten teeth. Others included the relatively affluent boroughs of Hillingdon, West London, at 25 per cent, and Charnwood in Leicestershire at 29 per cent.

Sweets for my sweet: A single glass of orange juice packs a whopping 30.4g of sugar

‘Posh sugar is no better than any other sugar.

‘Parents think they are doing good, but fruit juice needs to be restricted to one small glass a day.

‘Our key advice for under three is just have water and milk, that way they won’t get a taste for the sweeter liquids that cause decay.’

Many parents give children fruit juice or squash in bottles and beakers to comfort them or before bed. They may suck them for hours on end – with the sugar slowly eroding their teeth. Officials say if children must have juice it should be from a cup which is drunk quickly, causing minimal harm to their teeth.

Although the decay affects children’s milk teeth, which fall out naturally, experts say it also harms their gums making them more prone to infection in adulthood.

This is the first time such a survey has been carried out so it is impossible to know if the problem is getting worse. But NHS figures published in July showed the number of children being admitted to hospital with tooth decay had risen by 14 per cent in three years.

Dr Christopher Allen, chairman of the British Dental Association’s dental public health committee, said: ‘Parents may feel that giving sugar-sweetened drinks is comforting, but in reality it’s more likely to cause pain and suffering as it is the major cause of tooth decay in toddlers.’

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One in 8 three-year-olds has rotting teeth... and fruit juice is to blame: Parents warned organic drinks and smoothies can contain as much sugar as a glass of coke